Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are an important teaching resource to universities. Most GTAs enter graduate school with limited if any teaching experience but are given the responsibility of teaching numerous sections of introductory courses. GTA professional development (PD) is essential for the formation and preparation of these novice…

Today, millions of students cross geographic, cultural, and educational borders for their higher education. Trends of international student mobility are significant to universities, educators, business leaders, and governments to increase revenue and campus diversity in the global marketplace. As such, it is vital to examine recent trends in…

A model for employing graduate assistants is presented based in part on a survey of employment conditions during 1980 for graduate assistants at 56 major institutions in all 50 states. Responses were received from 46 or 82% of the institutions. The model is designed to offer directions to institutions that seek to develop or revise assistantship…

Graduate teaching assistants are too often given only "survival training" to prepare them to teach freshman composition. For the following reasons, the focus of teacher preparation in this area should be on rhetorical theory: (1) the study of theory informs the practice of teaching, (2) the study of theory is likely to give the beginner…

Rather than being trained and supervised, graduate teaching assistants in rhetoric and speech should be taught and advised. Teaching assistants, or graduate instructors, should be considered colleagues, not merely cheap labor to teach courses the rest of the faculty does not want to teach. The first step in establishing an effective teaching and…

Resources pertinent to teaching assistants at colleges are identified. The listing includes general books on teaching, handbooks designed for the TA, discipline-centered materials, videotapes and other materials for use in workshops, and organizations that can provide workshops and other opportunities to contact resource persons. (Author/SW)

This report provides results from a 1982 University of Virginia Committee on Orientation survey designed to assess faculty perceptions of their students' knowledge and use of the university's libraries. Of a total of 1,588 questionnaires mailed to teaching faculty and graduate teaching assistants, 554 (34%) were returned. In analyzing the results,…

Cultural and language barriers facing foreign teaching assistants are discussed. Universities may test the spoken English ability of foreign graduate students and train currently employed foreign teaching assistants through lectures, tapes, and demonstration of teaching skills; information on American campus life; and English practice. Follow-up…

Reports on a study in which 19 doctoral students were interviewed regarding their own self-esteem and their attitudes toward undergraduate student and professors. Finds differences between precandidate and candidate graduate students in all three areas. Asserts that these differences are evidence that doctoral programs encourage a shift away from…

The design of a training program for Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) at the University of Washington and its current implementation are described. Departmental training for GTAs is administered through the Center for Instructional Development and Research (CIDR). Training support provided by CIDR is based on a Train-the-Trainer model, which…

Unionization of graduate students at the State University of New York since 1967 is chronicled, from graduate student employees' inclusion in faculty collective bargaining to establishment of a separate bargaining unit. Problems facing graduate student employee unions and likely future concerns are discussed briefly. (MSE)

The paper examines issues of teaching quality at the university level and offers recommendations concerning training of teaching assistants, the role of the graduate dean, and the role of the chief academic officer. Although both teaching competence and scholarly expertise are commonly recognized as necessary for faculty competence, discrepancies…

A discussion of teaching assistants (TAs) in the law school looks at the TA's cognitive and affective roles and effective ways to use TAs to reinforce usual forms of learning in the large class; introduce a broadened range of materials, skills, and learning methods; and transform the large class experience. (MSE)

The 56 papers in this volume address issues central to the preparation of graduate teaching assistants (TA) as both scholars and future professors. It is noted that the majority of TA programs are infrequent workshops with either limited or no follow-up, and that the task of preparing the next generation of professors appears to be more complex…

Approaches to developing teaching assistant programs are discussed, based on the organizational change literature. Five models are identified: rational planning, social interaction, human problem solving, political models, and a research and development approach. Political processes often can be blended with social interaction and problem-solving…